This poll is in response to some people (ie kids on tumblr) being upset about Jared Leto winning the Oscar for his role in Dallas Buyers Club. Their arguments go as such:

"Trans actors don’t really get a lot of options for who they get to play so why shouldn’t a trans woman get to play a trans woman?"

"He didn't even mention trans women in his acceptance speech while Lupita mentioned her inspirations in hers. As a cis man he doesn't really understand the oppression faced by the trans community."

I think those arguments are ridiculous bc no one cares if queer people play hetero/cis characters so why should it matter if hetero/cis actors play queer characters? It's just acting and if the people involved in the film knew Jared Leo would be good why would it even matter who else was considered for the role? Plus, he did make an effort to portray his character accurately and true to the real-life trans people he worked with. It's not like he was casual about the role.

+at least he's raising awareness.

To be honest though I'm not really sure what my opinion is!

Personally, I don't have any knowledge of Jared Leto or the character he played, but recently there was a transwoman introduced in Two and a Half Men (played by a cisgendered woman). What bothered me, though, was not so much how she plays the character, but how the character herself is written. To put it simply, most of the characters are very gender-stereotypical but this transwoman is the first "chivalrous" female character on the show, and that seems too much like a coincidence. There was a transman on the show once too and he acted noticeably more feminine than all the other males (despite being described as very masculine by another character before realising he was trans*).

I definitely think that a better effort needs to be made to get transgendered performers in media more, so it seems logical that they should be encouraged to audition for trans* characters and considered for the roles.

Otherwise, as there are only a handful of transgendered characters in media, maybe trans* actors need to be considered more often for the roles of cisgendered characters too?

Considering that the world's cis population completely dwarfs the trans population, it's natural that trans people be played by cis people occasionally.

Personally, I wish that more trans people would be utilized more often in the voice acting industry in particular. There's a lot of post and/or mid transition people who have developed an amazing vocal range that most cis people can only dream of. Why not celebrate it? That shit's cool.

obviously if you picked that it was okay, you're cis. trans actors get miniscule roles (unincluding jared letos character and laverne coxs character), if they get a role at all. any roles of trans characters should always be played by trans people themselves. cis people have no idea the struggles of the transgender community, and thereforr they cannot play the roles accurately! while it's true the amount of famous trans individuals can basically be counted on one hand, so can the amount of roles. by the way, the asterisk is wrong, please stop using "trans*" and just say trans. give the queer roles to actual queer people. give trans roles to people who understamd what it's like: actual trans people.

not to mention that the fact that cis people think that their opinion on trans characters trumps the opinion of actual trans people on trans characters is prettt gross. if you ask me. a trans person.

^ bro I'm not saying my opinion but trumps yours but my opinion is that it's just acting. Straight actors play gay characters and I'm gay and I don't care. Actors and actresses can play single moms, war veterans, superheroes, amputees, schizophrenics, suicidals, cancer victims, even God or monkeys. A bit of research and/or role playing gets them in the role. Yes I'm cis but my opinion is the same for any queer roles - I don't see why it matters. I would understand the option "make an effort to include more trans people" but not the argument to exclusively hire trans actors, especially because they might not understand the character the best. What if the three trans actors just aren't that good? What if they can't get into the role of being a doctor or lawyer or single parent or whatever it may be? What then? Trans people can't be the only option; that's ridiculous.

then find a trans actor out there that can play the role. they're out there. i promise. if there wass the role of a trans woman, amd a cis man gets the role over an actual trans woman, that woman is out of work how often is it that a trans person can find work while being openly trans? i hear about the most success of trans people in the entertainment business. in voice acting, would you want a white american person playing a chinese-speaking character or an actual chinese person that came from china? ismt the use of real animals more aesthetically pleasing than animatronic robots? you're gay, so would you rather have a privileged straight woman play a lesbian role or a lesbian that may not be able to.find work otherwise because she is a lesbian? (homophobia now isnt that harsh anymore, she could pobably find work, but you see what im saying.)

literally the best way to describe it is that theres a role for a woman. actual women audition, but they decide to cast a man because "he'll look feminine enough with enough makeup and if we stick him in a dress." does that make sense to you? or should they have cast an actual woman? (keep in mind that the women are probably JUST as qualified as the man was, but yknow, those were ...women.)

"aesthetically pleasing" isn't good motivation for putting extra effort to go out and find a trans actor. If a trans actor is putting in the effort on their own part to get the role, good for them, give it to them. but if a cis actor is the better candidate and is pushing harder for the job, that shows dedication and it is more economical to hire them. that's the point I'm making - hire the best candidate regardless of gender identity. if cis, fine. if trans, great.

and sure, if a privileged straight women can play the role let her. i adore Olivia Wilde as the bisexual Thirteen in House. Laura Prepon plays Alex Vause, a lesbian, in OITNB and she's great. they're great in their roles so no, I don't care.

and that analogy doesn't make sense because there's a huge visual and, to use your word, aesthetic difference between men and women.

but jared leto is a man. jared letos charactee was a woman. why would ypu let a man play a woman's role att all. obviously "aesthetically pleasing" wasnt referring to cis/trans actors. if you found out that an actual lesbian tried out for alex's role, but was denied the job EVEN THOUGH she was just as qualified as laura prepon was, wouldnt you be upset? i mean, laverne cox herself could have played jared leto's role. alexandra billings. laura jane grace. here, if you need proof other than a, um, trans person, read this link any of these women could have been offered his role. if its too hard and requires too much "extra effort," you may as well cast a cis man for a cis woman's role because finding a woman would be too much "extra effort."

ah, I see what you meant, sorry.

but no, because I would assume there was a reason. I would assume Laura Prepon was the better actress or was willing to work for less or had more experience or whatever. I don't doubt that transphobia exists but I don't believe it exists everywhere. I especially don't believe, and this is operating under the assumption that people making shows or movies about queer characters are not overtly biased, that it exists in selection. Laura Prepon would not be picked because she's straight; she would be picked in spite of being straight because she is simply the better candidate. Do you see what I mean? I think it's fair to assume that the people doing the hiring would hire queer actors if they were more qualified. However, trans actors should not automatically get roles above cis actors.

My argument in summery is just that the most qualified person should be hired, period. You seem to be arguing that trans actors exist and they are just as qualified, but I don't know how you can know that. You can't say they audition just as well. You see, because there are more cis actors than trans actors there is more diverse talent to choose from, and that's why I think choosing cis actors is fair.

It's pretty much the same argument as affirmative action, I hope you realize that. I'm non-white (so I do have the authority to comment here) and I only believe in affirmative action in that I think the same opportunities should be given to minorities. I don't think we should be given admission to college or given jobs because of being a minority. I don't think trans actors should be given roles just because they're trans if they didn't earn it. They absolutely should be given the auditions, though, and that's as far as I support.

Finally, your cis man for a cis woman role actually doesn't make sense this time because there's an abundance of cis actresses. There isn't an abundance of trans actors. It goes back to the diversity of talent - if there isn't a lot to choose from, look somewhere else. Cis actors are huge and diverse.

I know my explanation is long and rambling but I'm trying to make the point in as many ways as possible that whoever is the most qualified should be hired.

and a cis person is not qualified to play a trans person. period. they do not have the experience. they do not know what its like. they can not relate to being trans. they are not qualified to play trans characters. i just proved to you that there actually are plenty of trans women actresses...... the reason you dont know about them is becase they are not given roles they are qualified for, like the role given to a cis man.

^ No, they don't know what it's like to be trans, but acting is all about pretending. I've already made that point - trans actors can play cis characters so why not the other way around? Straights can play gays and gays can play straights. As long as they accurately portray the struggle on screen why should it matter if they're cis or trans?

And no, you're missing the point again. I know there are trans actors, but what I'm saying is that they don't always have the talent that people are seeking or the experience. They are not always qualified for the specific role required of them. If 1 in every 500 people are trans, that's 500 times more diversity in the acting pool of cis people. That's what I'm saying. That's why it's fine to look at cis people. Roles often require a very specific appearance or very specific set of skills. That's why there are so many unemployed cis actors, too.

what is the point of depicting trans characters if you're going to remove opportunity for actual trans people to get involved with the representation

^ This
Like, if you physically can't find a trans actor to play your trans character than I don't think it's bad to have to cast a cis actor, as long as they play it in an accurate non-offensive manor. But trans people should have the opportunity to be casted for their roles. It's on the same basis of casting a white actor to play a poc.

Mostly because trans* actors understand the struggles other trans* people go through whereas cis people don't.